September 22, 2002 - IBuySpy's Different Uses of JScript .NET

IBuySpy Store relies on one of the scripting languages to implement its behind-the-scenes business logic. You can use VB, C#, or JScript .NET. Since you are already familiar with JavaScript on the client side, and since JScript .NET may become the ECMAScript standard someday, JScript .NET is a good choice to implement your ASP.NET applications. We converted IBuySpy Store to JScript .NET and will demonstrate its usage in our tips and columns.

IBuySpy Store uses JScript .NET in several different file types:

ASP.NET pages. These files end with the extension

.aspx. They are responsible for the look of the Web pages and for the interaction with the user. The .aspx pages include a <SCRIPT> section for the JScript .NET code. The business logic is run by the JScript .NET code. They resemble the .html pages on the client side, where the <SCRIPT> section includes the JavaScript code.

ASP.NET controls. These files end with the extension

.ascx. They are very similar to ASP.NET pages in their roles and responsibilities. They are different from ASP.NET pages in that they are not stand-alone pages. They are being included in other ASP.NET pages. As such, ASP.NET pages may share the same ASP.NET control. IBuySpy Store's control files begin with an underscore. For example, _Header.ascx is being included by almost all ASP.NET pages of the store.

JScript .NET components. These files end with the extension

.js. They are pure JScript .NET code, w/o any ASP.NET statements. JScript .NET components are compiled into a binary library, and include the business logic classes, properties, and methods. These utilities may be used by any ASP.NET page or control.

JScript .NET Web services. These files end with the extension

.asmx. Actually, there is only one Web service in IBuySpy Store, InstantOrder.asmx. This Web service allows third-party applications to interact with IBuySpy store in the background, while the user does not even know about these transactions.